“You shouldn’t be crippling around on it. It’s liable to lay you up for a long time, and every step you take makes it worse.” “What do I care? What do I care how long I’m laid up? That’s nothing now. I’m going out on the point.” He would not have gone had Ned refused, but Osgood decided to humor him. At the outer extremity the point took a curve, so that on one side it sheltered Bear Cove, into which Silver Brook emptied. As they reached that curving outer shore, a small boat—a punt—issued from the cove, passed that hook-like nose of land and appeared in the moonlight which bathed the surface of the lake. The occupant of the punt, who was propelling it with a paddle, was Hooker! “There he is!” shouted Charley. He turned his face toward them, and they were so near that they almost fancied they could see the wild expression in his eyes. They called to him again and again, begging him to come back and seeking to give him every assurance of their friendly intentions. He did not answer; changing the course of the boat somewhat, he drove it with powerful strokes toward a small island which lay off the mouth of the cove. “It’s no use,” muttered Osgood; “he’ll give up only when he’s caught, and then he’ll probably make a fight of it.” “But how are we going to catch him?” “I wish I knew. If we had another boat——” “I know where there’s a raft,” exclaimed Shultz. “We might follow him with that.” “We never could overtake him on a raft.” “But he’s going on to Bass Island. If he doesn’t see us coming, we might catch him there.” Ned was extremely doubtful, but the insistence and eagerness of Charley finally led him to agree to look for the raft. Fully half an hour passed before they found it lying partly on the shore of the cove not far from the mouth of Silver Brook. It was a rather long, narrow affair, built of small logs fastened together by cross-pieces. When it was launched they tested its buoying capacity and found it would barely support them both. Nevertheless, with pieces of board for paddles, they pushed off upon it and made their way slowly toward the mouth of the cove. Both knelt as they wielded the board paddles, and their knees were soon wet with the water which occasionally washed across the almost submerged logs. Although they could not see the punt on the shore of the island, they felt certain Hooker had landed there, and, hoping he would not discover their approach, they exerted their strength in the effort to reach the place as soon as possible. The island was not more than thirty yards distant when they again saw the punt, headed this time for the farther shore of the lake. It seemed that Hooker must have been watching, and, with almost tantalizing cunning, he had waited until they were near before he put out from the opposite side of the island. “Let’s not give up,” pleaded Shultz. “Let’s follow him.”